Facilitating Supplementary Innovation in the Digital Game Industry: The Role of Modding Toolkits

Game modifications (mods) developed by users are common in the digital game industry, serving as a form of user-driven supplementary innovation that enables game developers to extend the lifespan of their core games. Companies have recognized the strategic value of such innovation and offered official modding toolkits to support users’ endeavors. Nevertheless, the effects of modding toolkits on mod performance are not well understood, as extant literature is fragmented and descriptive, lacking an examination of the relationship between official modding toolkits and mod performance. This study plans to address this knowledge gap by analyzing official toolkit documents and behavioral data from platforms such as Nexus Mod and investigating the effects of modding toolkit features on mod performance. By advancing our knowledge of the supplementary innovation toolkit as a strategic approach in the digital game industry, the study is expected to provide valuable insights into extending product lifespan and utility

Alcohol consumption among adults with a cancer diagnosis in the All of Us Research Program

IMPORTANCE: Alcohol consumption is associated with adverse oncologic and treatment outcomes among individuals with a diagnosis of cancer. As a key modifiable behavioral factor, alcohol consumption patterns among cancer survivors, especially during treatment, remain underexplored in the United States. OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively characterize alcohol consumption patterns among US cancer survivors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used data from May 6, 2018, to January 1, 2022, from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program, a diverse US cohort with electronic health record (EHR) linkage, and included 15 199 participants who reported a cancer diagnosis and 1839 patients among a subset with EHR data who underwent treatment within the past year of the baseline survey. Data analysis was performed from October 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Prevalence of current drinking and of risky drinking behaviors, including exceeding moderate drinking (\u3e2 drinks on a typical drinking day), binge drinking (≥6 drinks on 1 occasion), and hazardous drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption [AUDIT-C] score ≥3 for women or ≥4 for men). RESULTS: This study included 15 199 adults (mean [SD] age at baseline, 63.1 [13.0] years; 9508 women [62.6%]) with a cancer diagnosis. Overall, 11 815 cancer survivors (77.7%) were current drinkers. Among current drinkers, 1541 (13.0%) exceeded moderate drinking, 2812 (23.8%) reported binge drinking, and 4527 (38.3%) engaged in hazardous drinking. After multivariable adjustment, survivors who were younger than 65 years, men, or of Hispanic ethnicity or who received a diagnosis before 18 years of age or ever smoked were more likely to exceed moderate drinking (aged \u3c50 years: odds ratio [OR], 2.90 [95% CI, 2.41-3.48]; aged 50-64 years: OR, 1.84 [95% CI, 1.58-2.15]; men: OR, 2.38 [95% CI, 2.09-2.72]; Hispanic ethnicity: OR, 1.31 [95% CI, 1.04-1.64]; aged \u3c18 years at diagnosis: OR, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.04-2.24]; former smokers: OR, 2.46 [95% CI, 2.16-2.79]; current smokers: OR, 4.14 [95% CI, 3.40-5.04]) or binge drink (aged \u3c50 years: OR, 4.46 [95% CI, 3.85-5.15]; aged 50-64 years: OR, 2.15 [95% CI, 1.90-2.43]; men: OR, 2.10 [95% CI, 1.89-2.34]; Hispanic ethnicity: OR, 1.31 [95% CI, 1.09-1.58]; aged \u3c18 years at diagnosis: OR, 1.71 [95% CI, 1.24-2.35]; former smokers: OR, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.53-1.87]; current smokers: OR, 2.27 [95% CI, 1.91-2.71]). Survivors with cancer diagnosed before 18 years of age or who ever smoked were more likely to be hazardous drinkers (aged \u3c18 years at diagnosis: OR, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.11-2.08]; former smokers: OR, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.68-1.99]; current smokers: OR, 2.13 [95% CI, 1.79-2.53]). Of 1839 survivors receiving treatment as captured in the EHR, 1405 (76.4%) were current drinkers, and among these, 170 (12.1%) exceeded moderate drinking, 329 (23.4%) reported binge drinking, and 540 (38.4%) engaged in hazardous drinking, with similar prevalence across different types of cancer treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This cross-sectional study of a diverse US cohort suggests that alcohol consumption and risky drinking behaviors were common among cancer survivors, even among individuals receiving treatment. Given the adverse treatment and oncologic outcomes associated with alcohol consumption, additional research and implementation studies are critical in addressing this emerging concern among cancer survivors

Therapeutic Mechanisms of Berberine to Improve the Intestinal Barrier Function via Modulating Gut Microbiota, TLR4/NF-κ B/MTORC Pathway and Autophagy in Cats

BackgroundInflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a disease that seriously harms human and animal health, has attracted many researchers’ attention because of its complexity and difficulty in treatment. Most research has involved rats and dogs, and very little was cats. We should know that gut microbiota varies significantly from animal to animal. Traditional Chinese Medicine and its monomer component have many advantages compared with antibiotics used in pet clinics. Numerous studies have shown berberine (berberine hydrochloride) therapeutic value for IBD. However, the specific mechanism remains to consider.ResultsWe assessed gut pathology and analyzed fecal bacterial composition using Histological staining and 16S rRNA sequence. Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DSS) administration destroyed intestinal mucosal structure and changed the diversity of intestinal flora relative to control. RT-PCR and western blot confirmed specific molecular mechanisms that trigger acute inflammation and intestinal mucosal barrier function disruption after DSS treatment. And autophagy inhibition is typical pathogenesis of IBD. Interestingly, berberine ameliorates inflammation during the development of the intestinal by modulating the toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathway and activating autophagy. Berberine significantly reduces tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β expression in cats’ serum. Enhancing the antioxidant effect of IBD cats is one of the protective mechanisms of berberine. We demonstrated that berberine repairs intestinal barrier function by activating the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex (MTORC), which inhibits autophagy.ConclusionBerberine can restore intestinal microbiota homeostasis and regulate the TLR4/NF-κB pathway, thereby controlling inflammatory responses. We propose a novel mechanism of berberine therapy for IBD, namely, berberine therapy can simultaneously activate MTORC and autophagy to restore intestinal mucosal barrier function in cats, which should be further studied to shed light on berberine to IBD

Circulating markers of microbial translocation and host response to bacteria with risk of colorectal cancer: A prospective, nested case-control study in men

BACKGROUND: Gut microbial dysbiosis contributes to colorectal cancer (CRC) pathogenesis, possibly mediated in part by increased intestinal permeability to endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), microbial translocation, and subsequent endotoxemia and inflammation. However, epidemiologic evidence linking circulating markers of microbial translocation with CRC risk is limited. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, nested case-control study of 261 incident CRC cases and 261 controls (matched on age and time of blood draw) among 18,159 men with pre-diagnostic blood specimens in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1993-2009). We examined three complementary markers of microbial translocation and host response to bacteria, including LPS-binding protein (LBP), soluble CD14 (sCD14), and endotoxincore antibody (EndoCAb) immunoglobulin M (IgM), with subsequent risk of CRC. Unconditional logistic regressions were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). FINDINGS: Pre-diagnostic circulating levels of sCD14 were associated with a higher risk of incident CRC. Compared to men in the lowest quartile, the multivariable OR was 1.90 (95% CI, 1.13-3.22) for men in the highest quartile (OR INTERPRETATION: Microbial translocation and host response to bacteria, as reflected by sCD14, is associated with risk of incident CRC in men. FUNDING: US National Institutes of Health

Risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and associations with gastrointestinal cancers

Metabolic syndrome may contribute to the rising incidence of multiple gastrointestinal (GI) cancers in recent birth cohorts. However, other than hepatocellular carcinoma, the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and risk of non-liver GI cancers is unexplored. We prospectively examined the associations of NAFLD risk with GI cancers among 319,290 participants in the UK Biobank (2006-2019). Baseline risk for NAFLD was estimated using the Dallas Steatosis Index, a validated prediction tool. Multivariable Cox models were used to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) according to NAFLD risk categories: low (\u3c20%), intermediate (20%-49%), and high (≥50%). We also examined the associations by age of cancer diagnosis (earlier onset [\u3c60] vs. ≥60). A total of 273 incident liver cancer and 4789 non-liver GI cancer cases were diagnosed. Compared with individuals at low risk for NAFLD, those at high risk had 2.41-fold risk of liver cancer (RR = 2.41, 95% CI: 1.73-3.35) and 23% increased risk of non-liver GI cancers (RR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.14-1.32) (all

Introduction to Community Service-Learning (SRCL 1000)

Introduction to Community Service-Learning is a general elective open to first to fourth year international and domestic students from a variety of disciplines across campus. Every fall and winter semester each student volunteers at one of 30 local not-for-profit organizations for a full semester. Students are required to complete 24 hours of service as part of their course work. In this poster session, 16 not-for-profit organizations will be represented by 27 SRCL 1000 students. They will demonstrate personal reflections on their service experiences, how their experiences connect to the course work and their organizations, and what they will take back to their own communities after the course is over. Students representing the following Kamloops not-for-profit organizations: Active Care Services: Nolan Fenrich St. John Ambulance: Damilola Abiyo and Ryuki Furuta Overlander Residential Care: Glory Amukamara Ponderosa Lodge: Rahab Kariuki The Kamloops Food Bank: Yu Cao, Surkamal Singh Jhand, Xiangzhong Kong and Ruotong Shi The ReStore – Habitat for Humanity: Dion Maborekhe, Fengyi Yang and Haonan Deng Kamloops Immigrant Services: Dipak Parmar Maple Leaf School: Qian Wang and Mengyao Zhu BC SPCA: Dawei Xu TRU Sustainability Office: Akash Ghosh, Takaya Hirose, Jihoon Kim and Kosuke Masunaga TRU Horticulture: Ols Buta TRU The X Radio: Marie Gabriela Jimenez and MD Majharul Islam Sabuj Beattie School of the Arts: Makoto Iida Gemstone Care Center: Tirth Panchal Chartwell Ridgepointe: Sakina Shikama Sikh Temple: Gurpreet Pua

Down-Regulation of EBV-LMP1 Radio-Sensitizes Nasal Pharyngeal Carcinoma Cells via NF-κB Regulated ATM Expression

BACKGROUND:The latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) encoded by EBV is expressed in the majority of EBV-associated human malignancies and has been suggested to be one of the major oncogenic factors in EBV-mediated carcinogenesis. In previous studies we experimentally demonstrated that down-regulation of LMP1 expression by DNAzymes could increase radiosensitivity both in cells and in a xenograft NPC model in mice. RESULTS:In this study we explored the molecular mechanisms underlying the radiosensitization caused by the down-regulation of LMP1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. It was confirmed that LMP1 could up-regulate ATM expression in NPCs. Bioinformatic analysis of the ATM ptomoter region revealed three tentative binding sites for NF-κB. By using a specific inhibitor of NF-κB signaling and the dominant negative mutant of IkappaB, it was shown that the ATM expression in CNE1-LMP1 cells could be efficiently suppressed. Inhibition of LMP1 expression by the DNAzyme led to attenuation of the NF-κB DNA binding activity. We further showed that the silence of ATM expression by ATM-targeted siRNA could enhance the radiosensitivity in LMP1 positive NPC cells. CONCLUSIONS:Together, our results indicate that ATM expression can be regulated by LMP1 via the NF-κB pathways through direct promoter binding, which resulted in the change of radiosensitivity in NPCs

The Digital Economy Has Boosted the High-quality Development of Marine fisheries: Mediating effect test based on industrial structure upgrading

The integrated development of digital economy and marine fishery is an important driving force for the high-quality development of marine fishery. This paper selected relevant data from 11 coastal provinces in China from 2012 to 2019 to empirically study the impact of digital economy on the high-quality development of marine fisheries, as well as its internal mechanism and potential heterogeneity. The results showed that: from the direct effect, digital economy had played a significant positive role in promoting the high-quality development of marine fisheries in coastal areas, and its effect intensity decreased from the Yangtze River Delta region, the Pearl River Delta region and the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea region. From the perspective of mediating effect, the upgrading of industrial structure had played a mediating effect on the high-quality development of marine fishery in the whole sample area of coastal provinces and the three major regions. From the perspective of regional samples, the mediating effect of industrial structure upgrading and the influence of industrial structure upgrading on the high-quality development of marine fishery in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea had been successively weakened. Based on this, this paper provided policy suggestions for promoting the high-quality development of marine fishery from the aspects of vigorously developing digital economy, formulating digital economy development strategy according to local conditions, and promoting industrial transformation and upgrading

Effect of heat-moisture treatment on physicochemical properties of chickpea starch

Abstract Chickpea starch was modified by heat-moisture treatment (HMT). The effect of heat-moisture treatment on the amylose content of chickpea starch was studied, and the physicochemical properties, gelatinization properties, texture properties and digestion properties of modified chickpea starch were compared and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). After HMT, the amylose content of chickpea starch increased. Compared with the natural starch, the morphology of starch granule was changed and destroyed under the condition of higher water content (30%). It was found that the crystalline morphology had no obvious change, and the structure was still C-type. In FT-IR spectra, the position of characteristic absorption peak had no obvious change, and the internal structure and main components of chickpea starch had no obvious change. The solubility, swelling power, transparency, freeze-thaw stability and gelation ability of chickpea starch treated with HMT decreased, while the thermal stability increased and the anti-digestibility enhanced

A Two-Stage Large Group Decision-Making Method Based on a Self-Confident Double Hierarchy Interval Hesitant Fuzzy Language

With the development of the cloud computing era, the decision-making environment and algorithm models have become increasingly complex, and traditional decision-making methods have been unable to meet the needs of large group decision-making (LGDM) problems. Firstly, in order to solve this problem, the concept of double hierarchy interval hesitant fuzzy language (DHIHFL) is proposed. Compared with the traditional double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy language (DHHFL), it contains all elements from the lower limit to the upper limit and more comprehensively characterizes the hesitation of language information. Secondly, for LGDM problems, a self-confident double hierarchy interval hesitant fuzzy language (SC-DHIHFL) is developed, and the integration of self-confident degree can better enrich the evaluation information and promote the achievement of group consensus. Thirdly, a new two-stage LGDM method is proposed. The first stage is clustering and grouping and reaching consensus within the group, and the second stage is the integration of LGDM information. The two-stage method contains novel methods such as expert clustering algorithm, subjective and objective comprehensive weight, consensus degree, and deviation weight considering minority opinions. Finally, the proposed LGDM consensus method is applied to a practical LGDM problem, and the effectiveness is verified by comparative analysis with existing methods